Dragon Gate USA
Dragon Gate USA is the sister promotion to Dragon Gate and is based primarily in the United States. It was developed as part of a continuing effort by Dragon Gate to expand outside of Japan and into other countries. Shows are generally run one weekend every two months with the majority of them airing on pay-per-view or internet pay-per-view. Satoshi Oji serves as President, Gabe Sapolsky is Vice President, and Sal Hamaoui is Chief Operating Officer. History On September 5 and 6, 2008, Dragon Gate ran a pair of shows in the United States, the first in Bell Gardens, California and the second in Waikiki, Hawaii. Based off the success of both shows, discussions were made internally to establish a sister promotion based in America. During a show at Korakuen Hall in Tokyo, Japan on April 14, 2009, Dragon Gate President Takashi Okamura announced the creation of Dragon Gate USA. Within a matter of days, Dragon Gate further announced that Satoshi Oji would serve as the DGUSA President, former Ring of Honor booker Gabe Sapolsky would be Vice President, and Full Impact Pro owner Sal Hamaoui would be Chief Operating Officer. In June, it was announced that Dragon Gate USA would be airing their shows on pay-per-view through G-Funk Sports and Entertainment, who had just ended business relations with Ring of Honor. The first show entitled "Open The Historic Gate" took place on July 25, 2009 at the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Most of the matches would then air on pay-per-view as "Enter The Dragon" beginning September 4, 2009. The show received a great deal of acclaim and was awarded Best Major Show of 2009 by the Wrestling Observer. In August 2009, DGUSA signed an agreement with the Fight Network for them to air content from their shows on television. On September 7, 2010, DGUSA, along with other Sapolsky and Hamaoui promotions EVOLVE and FIP, would enter a partnership with Go Fight Live and would have their shows aired live on internet pay-per-view. The first DGUSA show to air would be on October 29 with Bushido: Way of the Warrior (later renamed Bushido: Code of the Warrior). DGUSA would introduce their own championships to be recognized both in its own promotion and Dragon Gate. The first, the Open The Freedom Gate Championship, was crowned on November 28, 2009 in a one-night tournament won by BxB Hulk. The second, the Open The United Gate Championships, was crowned during a three-night round robin tournament that ended on January 30, 2011 and won by Masato Yoshino and PAC. Both championships have since been defended at least once in Japan whereas Open The Dream Gate and Open The Brave Gate have been defended in DGUSA shows. While DGUSA would be the primary showcase for Dragon Gate talent in the United States, the promotion itself would also establish young, up-and-coming independent talent. If a wrestler manages to perk the interest of officials in Japan, they will book him on a tour across the Pacific in the main promotion as a means of their desire for DGUSA to succeed and as an additional source for developing new talent. Those who have been booked to date are Ricochet, Brodie Lee, Rich Swann, Chuck Taylor, and Johnny Gargano. Roster DGUSA Homegrown Talent Dragon Gate Japan talent who have appeared Championships Category:Promotions